Car seal



Patented July 7, 1925.

i v 1,544,918: UNI-T ED As'ra'resz PATENT oFF1cE.

CHARLES LYNCH-AND EDWARD T. IBOVYLANQOF Bao-OKLYN, NEW YORK.

- einem;

application vfr1n1`-iiray Y'22, 1922. serial 110.562,588;

Tov all whom t may '00h/cera:

Be it known'that we, CI-IAnms' and EDWARD;T. Bo'YLAN, citizens of the United States and residents of Brooklyn, in thecounty of kings and State Aof New York, have invented certain new and useful Im'- provernents in Car Seals, of which the following is a specification.l l f This' invention relates tocar seals.

In the' transportation of freight by Vrailroad it has beenfound necessary'toaiii'x in addition to the freightcar door locks, a seal to indicate in case the seal' is broken that the contents yhave been tamperedwith. As thel freight car train passes Vfrom one division of the railroad to another or from'o'ne railroad line to anotherV the seals are inspected in o-rder to see that they are intact and in case they are broken the particular division on which` the tampering took place is located.

If, however, the seal can be unfastened without its destruction then the inspection is useless and it `is impossible to LVdetermine when and where thegoods were `stolen in case of theft. a g

` One of the objects lof this invention isto provide fa car seal that lcannot'be unfastened without destroying the sealso thatfonthe` usual inspection it would'be disclosed that the seal had been tampered with. l Another object of this invention is to have means to indicate when the seal is locked. Stillanother obj ect is to provide a sealV that will be economical to manufacture and one that will be easily'applied. f

Referring to the drawings l Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a freight car seal embodying the principles of my invention before it is secured to the freight car.

' Figure 2 is a View in elevation of a freight car seal in locked position.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal, sectional view showing the metallic'strap partially in elevation and part broken ofil and-partially inserted in block. v

n Figure 4 is a longitudinal, sectional vie-w showing the metallic strap in locked position.

Figure 5 is a detail longitudinal, sectional view of the seal block.

Figure 6 is a detail cross sectional View of the block.

Figure v7 is a detail View of the metal strap blanked out and prior to assembly.

In carrying out my invention I propose H.' -LYNeHf to lmake the car seal'in two parts and'for that purpose I provide a die formed 'metallic block and a-metal straps y Y The metal strap 1 is blanked out, see `Figure 7, with 'a' rectangular' piece 2 of greater width thanthe remainder of strap 1 at one end and at the other end and adjacent thereto is a. rectangular hole Near the rec'- tangular piece 2 in strap 1,7 two tongues 3 and4 are punshed out of strap 1. The rectangular end piece 2 is bent through an angle of 90o to the strap 1 prior to assembly.y See Figures 3' and 4, and tongue Y3 is bent. out while tongue tongue Y v Y Y Strap 1 is inserted in block6 through the -base thereof and pulled through block 6 'and out of opening 10 in thev top of the block. It is then pulled through unt-i-l the rectangular bent over end piece 2 of strap'l bears againstV the shoulder 11 of chamber 9 -in block 6. "lheendpiece 2 of strapl having been first dipped in acid, the block isthen turned around and chamber 9 is treated with acid and molten' metal is run therein to completely fill chamber 9 and holes 12, 12 in the walls of block 6'. A The purpose Aof holes `12, 12 is to provide means Vto prevent the ex,- traction of thevmetall plug. With reference toE Figure 5,-it will be seen that metal block 6 has a chamber therethrough divisible into three sections. side'thereof sloping at about a'GOo angle opening into section 8 which is a rectangular chamber and which in turn opens into a wider rectangular chamber 9.' The function of the sloping wall in the top section is to guide the end of strap 1 into locking relation with the tongues 3 and 4 as well as to? venable the block 6 to have as small an opening 10 as possible. Opening 10 is held closely to size and is slightly larger than the double thickness of strap 1. It is only suiiiciently large to enable strap 1 when doubled back on itself to be inserted easily therein.

4 isv bent,V back -to overlap;

The top section 7 has one.l

The operationof the device is as follows:

After the serial number is stamped in the soft metal strap 1, the strap is fastened around the lock or fastenings of the freight oar door in the usual manner and the loose end is pushed do-wn into opening 10 Where the sloping wall of section 7 and straight wall of section 8 guide the. end of the strap 1 in such a fashion as. to cause tongue 4 to snap into opening 5. A slightpull on strap l will then cause strap l to travel ,up against tongue 4 and over, and then .under tongue 3, in which position strap 1 becomes locked and cannot be withdrawn without either breaking strap l or wedge 6 sin-ce any movements of strap 1 will merely cause it to bear against either tongue 3 or tongue 4;.

Hole 5 in strap l is of suieient length so that a. portion of it is visible until it snaps over tongue 4 in order that the opera-r tor of the seal has a positive indication that the free end of strap l has been inserted a sufficient distance to be seeurely locked.

It will thus be seen that I provide a. simple device cheap to manufacture and one that cannot be tampered with without destroying the seal. Of course vthe device. might be made use of for other purposes besides that ofl sealing freight cars, such kas for sealing trunks in warehouses.V

What we claim is.: 1 l, A seal comprising a metal strap and a .metal block, said strap terminating at one end in a rectangular end piece to prevent l withdrawalV and overlapping and opposed tongues adjacent said rectangular endV piece, said tongues being integral with said strap for locking the other end of said strap 'in said block.

2. A. seal comprising a. metal strap and `a ,metal block chambered throughout its length, said strap terminating at one v end in a rectangular end piece of greater width than the strap and bent back to .divide the eha-m-bered block into two compartments7 a plug to fill one of said compartments, and means to vprevent withdrawal of the plug.

3. A seal comprising ametal stra-pV and a metal block chambered through its length, said strap terminating at one end in a rectangular end piece bentover to divide the chambered block into an upper .and lower y chamber, shoulders in said chambered'block for said end piece to bear against, said walls having holes therein from .said lower chamber, saidlower chamber' and holes filled bya plug.

' 4. A seal comprising a metal strap and a metal block, said metal strap having a rec- .tlllgular end piece at one end of greater width than the strap, tongues in said strap adjacent to the rectangular end piece, one of said tongues overlapping the other, a chamber in said block, means toY prevent withdrawal of theV rectangular yend piece of said strap, the Walls of said .chamber adapted to .guide the other .end ofsaid strap containing a 'hole into locking lrelationship with the aforesaid tongues.V

5,.'A lseal comprising a metal strap, a metal block and a plug, said metal block having two internal communicating chambers, one of said chambers being wider than the other and having ports in the side walls thereof for the plug' when molten to lill and solidify in, and a rectangular end piece in teg'ral with said strap to lit the wider chamber and close communications between the two chambers to prevent the plug when molten illing the two chambers.

6. A seal comprising -a met-al strap and a metal block said strap terminating at one end in a rectangular end, piece and having a hole therein adjacent the other end, opposed and overlapping tongues carried by said strap adjacent the rectangular end piece, chambers in said block, said end piece adapted to close 

